I've found a little info in the forums about this. Just wondering if anyone has built their own fence or had plans to. I'd like to build one, so I thought I'd ask for any ideas. I'll shut up and listen!
pen said:I've got an 18 month old and no gate around my wood stove. He was around it last winter as he was starting to crawl and this winter as he is perfecting his walking / running. His first word(s) were "what's that" quickly followed by "hot"
He knows that the stove is out of bounds. When he was first introduced being near to it, his reaction was much like our pets the first time, looking at it trying to understand the heat coming off of it.
First time he took a step towards it, I spoke up in my "pay attention NOW" voice and simply said "HOT".
That was the first time I ever spoke to the boy in that voice and haven't had to use it since. It made an impression.
For the next couple of months he must have pointed at the stove and said "hot" 30 times a day. During that time, everything that had an extreme temperature, even ice cream, was described as being hot.
Point is, I think I don't have trouble with my kid getting near the stove because it's not the forbidden fruit behind the wall.
My buddy who has a gate around his (made out of the old style metal railing that can be used on front porch steps) has a kid that spends his day throwing his toys over the railing next to the stove and trying to figure out what things he can poke at the stove through the railing.
Every family is different. And disciple / authority only goes so far as the person handing it out is comfortable with it.
Just sharing my experience, not trying to say you would be wrong for putting up a gate, but just wanted to share that it's not always necessary.
This is the family room / play room. As you can see by the bare floor it's under renovation at this time!
pen
Berone said:We use the Kidco hearth gate, which is the black version of the gate we used to contain him earlier on in the dining room. Now he mostly has the run of the place but he isn't walking yet. Nor does he have language skills. He's 11 months and trying to walk but not quite there and he babbles a lot, but doesn't speak. Last night we had a temper tantrum in the tub when I wouldn't let him pull the drain plug. I told him "no", I tried to distract him and the tantrum lasted for 20 minutes. My point is, you do what's right for your kid. I declined my wife's request to put foam on the hot water radiator pipes that run through the kitchen. But that pipe doesn't get hot enough to give him a 3rd degree burn. I said he would grab it once and learn his lesson. We told him "no, HOT" when he went near it. He only grabbed it three times before he learned to avoid it. So in our house there's a gate around the insert!
Northern NH Mike said:I agree with the idea that once is all it takes, but that once could be a pretty rough burn. Besides a child of this age is pretty unsteady on their feet and a wobble here or there could result in accidentally bumping into that stove. Teach the child that the stove is hot, but put up some barrier to avoid accidents until they are steady enough to avoid an accident.
~*~Kathleen~*~ said:Northern NH Mike said:I agree with the idea that once is all it takes, but that once could be a pretty rough burn. Besides a child of this age is pretty unsteady on their feet and a wobble here or there could result in accidentally bumping into that stove. Teach the child that the stove is hot, but put up some barrier to avoid accidents until they are steady enough to avoid an accident.
Agreed. I know a grown up who is nursing severe burns on both her hands because she tripped and fell toward the stove and used her hands to break her fall.
And as a bonus, its great to hang your wet snow clothes on to dry out!
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